Scotland Scores UK First With Innovative Water Source Heat Pump

Scotland will set a precedent for the UK’s future green endeavours with the introduction of the first water source heat pump in the country in 2018.

Powered by the chilly River Clyde, the £3.5 million commercial heat pump will use energy from the river currents to raise water temperatures to up to 80 degrees C and service homes and buildings within the Gorbals area when it comes into operation next year.

The water heat pump initiative is one of 13 innovative low carbon projects outlined for the near future by the Scottish government at a collective cost of £43 million. Funding for the ambitious initiatives will be provided jointly by the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, as well as by partners from the public and private sectors.

Speaking recently at the Euroheat and Power Congress in Glasgow, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Over the past ten years, our pattern of energy consumption has changed considerably, helping us to meet – and exceed – our 2020 target for reducing energy consumption, six years early.”

She added that the country would build on this success and seek views on the government’s next target of meeting 50 per cent of national energy consumption with renewables by 2030. The news follows earlier warnings from the National Grid that the UK is poised to miss its 2020 renewable energy targets.

The water source heat pump, which will provide heating and hot water from an entirely renewable source, will be operated initially by a renewable energy service company until around 2018, when the project is expected to be transferred to the public sector.